Journal of International Studies

Today I was the Knight  Who Says Ni   Conference. The Naval Diplomat took part  in a conference !  A  conference  in  a fair city where people appeared to be having a good time!!!  ( Click here  to sample the Monty Python-esque flavor of official policy toward conferences.) These are sad times when  passing ruffians  can say  conference  within earshot of meek U.S. government officials. But fear not, brave folk: no taxpayer dollars went to fund the iniquities of international-relations scholars. Nor did I enjoy myself. On to serious matters. I chaired a panel on International Cooperation composed of a trio of bright Ph.D. candidates from places like Oxford and Toronto. Good stuff. Later I presented a paper titled "The Death and Life of Surface Fleets," basically an amalgam of arguments familiar to  Naval Diplomat  readers ( see here  and  here for  a recap). Underlying the nuts-and-...

The Naval Diplomat did a double-take while wandering the defense contractors' exhibition halls in Sydney last week. This isn't uncommon, actually. Such displays always have a surreal feel to them. They typically feature photos or mock-ups of golly-gee weapon systems — implying that the casual visitor can whip out his MasterCard and take a Joint Strike Fighter or guided-missile destroyer home with him. For my money the best galleries were historical in nature. Several recounted the Royal Australian Navy's century-long history while paying homage to its pre-history — in particular to the Great White Fleet's port call in 1908. The visuals were simple and effective, deploying timelines, photos and ship models. Simple is good. One anomaly caught my eye, however, since I'm a relative newcomer to studying the RAN. The newly built battlecruiser HMAS  Australia  headed the new fleet's procession into Sydney Harbor one century ago. Despite her youth,  Australia ,...